Lost and Found
by mziegler10
Summary: All rights for the world go to Cassandra Claire. These characters are my own, Cassandra's might come later. The story centers around Ariella, a sixteen year old who has been thrown into the Shadowhunter's world against her will. Will she be able to find what she lost? POV shifts between the three main characters Ariella, Jasper, and Charlie. Reviews please, my first fan fiction!
1. Alone

Ariella

Ariella sat in the once warm living room, staring blankly at the walls, the once comfortable couch now suffocating her. She thought back to last week when the living room still felt warm, when her mother was still there. Ariella's eyes travelled into the kitchen, the sink now overflowing dirty dishes she didn't have the energy to clean. It amazed her how much of a mess she could make in a week. She could picture her mother standing there, cleaning them up and yelling at her simultaneously to get her act together.

"Ariella, I know that is hard but please, please look at me."

The man's voice shook Ariella loose from her memories. She was tired and exhausted and just wanted to be left alone.

"Like hell" she snapped back.

They had been sitting in the living room for what felt like an eternity. The man from the lawyer's office explaining the will, what was left for Ariella. Telling her the next steps to take to get her life back on track. She heard him give an exasperated sigh. She didn't blame him, she hadn't been all that cooperative.

"This photo was left for you. Your mother said you would understand. I'll leave it here and get out of your hair. Feel free to contact me with any questions. You have my card."

Ariella didn't look up to say goodbye as he left. Her eyes were glued to the faded photo she had seen in her mother's wallet thousands of times. She took a deep and shaky breath. She understood what that photo meant, she knew what her mother wanted her to do.

She took a deep breath before getting up and stuffing the photograph in her front jean pocket. Ariella wandered around the main floor of her home, engulfing herself in memories of her mother. As she wandered around the house she saw touches of her mother everywhere; in the decorations, the paint colors on the walls they had fought over, the pictures of the two of them that crowded the walls. Everything she saw seemed to tell her that her mother was running some errand and would be back soon, even after a week it didn't seem real. Ariella went upstairs, she figured packing up her things might help finalize everything; the fact that her mother was gone, this wasn't her home anymore, and that she had to go find him, her absent father of sixteen years. She walked past her mother's door, their bedrooms were right across the hall from each other. Ariella couldn't count the number of sleepless nights she had when she walked across the hall and crawled into her mother's bed to find a peaceful nights rest. Ariell's hand grabbed the knob and slowly opened the door to the undisturbed room. This was the first time since her mother's passing that she had the courage to go in there and she could barely walk through the doorway. She slowly made her way to her mother's bed and crawled under the covers, letting herself cry for the first time since her mother's death. Ariella didn't know how long she stayed there, wrapped up in the blankets, allowing herself to cry and fully accept that her mother was gone, but when she got up she finally felt a sliver of peace. Her mother wasn't coming back, but there was something that Ariella could do for her, she could complete her mother's final wish.

"Mother, I will find him, but know that this is for you. I don't want it." Ariella said to her mother's empty room. After taking a deep breath Ariella crawled out from under the blankets and left her mother's room, closing the door for the last time. She walked over to her room and began packing some clothes into a small duffle bag, she wasn't sure how long she was going to be gone but she had the feeling it was going to be for a while.


	2. Past and Present

It didn't take long for Ariella to find him. Her mother had been kind enough to leave his last known address on the back of the worn photograph. That address is what lead Ariella to be sitting in front of a church on a stone bench, her small duffle bag sitting comfortably on her lap. She hugged the duffle bag closer to her, trying to work up the courage to open those large wooden church doors. Ariella was wearing bermuda shorts and her favorite tank top that was covered in paint stains from her past art projects. Her red hair, with blue and purple highlights, put into a long braid that the summer breeze kept trying to undo. Ariella was lost in thought, trying to figure out what he was going to say to her father, if he knew about her mother's death, if he even knew about Ariella.

"What are you doing here?"

Ariella was jerked out of her thoughts. That familiar voice opening a door she had closed long ago. She slowly raised her head, eyes moving from the photograph to a familiar face.

"Jasper?" she asked. Her voice was barely a whisper. She couldn't believe he was here, couldn't believe she was seeing that face after all this time. He hadn't seemed to change much, his appearance was the same as when she had last seen him. His skin was still that golden tan color black tattoos lacing across his arms, his hair the color of a raven's wing and still cut in a skater style, his eyes seeming to shift between the colors of blue and green.

"Live and in person. Aria, why are you here?"

"Well, I can assure you I didn't come for you. I didn't even know you were here Jasper. I came to find someone else"

"I know you didn't come for me. We have been apart a bit too long for that. Who is this someone else? My curiosity has been peaked."

She took a deep breath, she couldn't believe that he was the first person she was going to say this to. "I am here to meet my father, his name is Mason. This is him about sixteen years ago." She said as she handed him the photograph.

"Do you really want to meet him?" Jasper asked, the curiosity and surprise evident in his voice.

"No but someone else wants me to, and I don't really have a choice. So take me to see him, please Jasper."

"Okay, then take my hand."

"Or, you could direct me to where he is using this thing called words."

Jasper ran his fingers through his raven colored hair with a sigh. The sunlight reflected the blue, green, and purple hues in his hair. That coloring had always amazed her, the complexity found in that seemingly simple color. Ariella shook herself loose from her memories, they weren't going to help her now.

"Fine, just follow me. I am pretty sure he hasn't left."

To Ariella's surprise he led her up the stairs of the church. Ariella kept her mouth shut, her mind racing with questions. What the hell was her father doing in a church, is that the reason he

wasn't around, and how the HELL was Jasper involved in her father's life?

Ariella was jerked back to reality by the loud groan of the heavy wooden church doors opening. She barely had time to examine the space around them before Jasper was out of sight. He was practically running down the marble hallway that was flanked by tall marble columns causing him to go from shadow to light faster than she thought possible.

"Excuse me" she shouted after him "I thought you were leading me to my father, not abandoning once you get me through the door, idiot. I didn't realize you wanted to get away from me so fast." She hoped that last bit hurt him, even a little would do.

"And I thought you were faster than that, idiot." He shot back.

"So sorry to disappoint you." She called back, putting all the sarcasm possible into her reply.

"You didn't _disappoint _me…just hurry up and get over here Aria."

Ariella ran at full speed and was next to him in no time. They stood next to each other, their eyes meeting for a brief second. She searched for some sign that he was as surprised and shocked by their reunion as she was and found none. Why the hell wasn't he as fazed by their reunion as she was? She didn't doubt he was surprised, he hadn't hidden it when he saw her outside of the church, but dammit why didn't he seem upset or hurt or anything else for that matter. It was as if he didn't care that she was there, standing close enough to reach out and take his hand just like she used to.

"So you are still as fast as me, huh?" He asked in a teasing tone.

"Were you trying to test me or something jerk?" She asked, not trying to hide her frustration.

"Aria"

"Stop calling me that Jasper!" She yelled cutting him off before he could say anything else.

"Okay, please calm down Ariella"

"No" she yelled, not bothering to lower her voice. "I have had enough shit happen to me, I don't need to deal with your snarky sarcastic crap right now. I don't know why you know my father, why you of all people, had to be here and find me and guess what, I don't care. We are not friends Jasper, we are not anything. Just show me to my father like you said you would and leave me alone!"

Jasper said nothing. He just stared at her until the door behind him opened and a man stepped out.

"Ariella" Jasper said, his voice barely in control, "Meet your father, Mason (last name needed)

"Ariella, please come in" Mason said, not showing any sign that he had heard the blowout between Ariella and Jasper.

Ariella silently followed her father into the room, not bothering to look behind to see where Jasper was going.


	3. Jasper

Jasper

"Dammit Aria, I don't understand either" Jasper whispered to the closed door.

He took a deep breath before heading toward the practice room. He needed to do something to calm his nerves and combat always helped. He headed down the hallway, hoping to the Angel that Charlie was still out and he would be left alone. Jasper knew he wouldn't be able to hide his jumbled emotions about what had just happened from Charlie, and the last thing he wanted was an impromptu counseling session. He operated on autopilot, reaching the stairs to the training room door before he knew it. His wish for no Charlie had been granted thus far and Jasper sent out one more silent prayer that it would stay that way.

Jasper walked into the familiar space and immediately began to calm down. He walked over to the weapons rack and picked up the familiar and worn bow, slinging the full quiver over his shoulder. With equipment in hand Jasper walked over to the white painted line, leaving the perfect amount of distance between him and the faded painted target on the wall. I really should repaint that target Jasper thought as he pulled an arrow from the quiver and nocked it into place. His mind cleared and his focus narrowed to his bow and his breathing. Jasper pulled back on the bow, letting his arrow fly and hitting the target dead center. With every breath he took in Jasper nocked an arrow and with every breath releases he let an arrow fly. He kept repeating this action, simply walking up to the wall and pulling his arrows free when his quiver was empty and repeating the process. Jasper lost track of the time, lost track of how many times he shot, lost track of the thoughts and emotions that had brought him to the practice room in the first place.

"Jasper supper time. Mason said you need to come eat, you have been up here for hours."

Jasper's focus was shattered in an instant. He dropped the arrow he had been about to nock and turned to face the intruder. Charlie was lounging against the wall, staring at the arrows in the wall, questions evident in his eyes. Jasper let out a sigh, he knew those questions were going to be asked later. Jasper tried to cover up his emotions by being his usual "snarky and sarcastic self".

"Charlie, there is this thing called knocking you could try." Letting the sarcasm drip from his words.

"I'll work on that, but you know it isn't nearly as fun as sneaking up on you." His reply was just as sarcastic as Jasper had been. "Now come on Jasper, I'm starving and Mason said we are all eating together. Something about having news to share with everyone." Charlie said as he turned away from Jasper and headed out the door.

Jasper went over to the target and grabbed his arrows, stuffing them into his quiver as he walked over to place his bow on the rack. He was dreading this meal, why would Mason have him come to dinner if he already knew was the news was? Jasper took another deep breath, he knew his world was about to change and he wasn't sure if it was for the best.


	4. A First Encounter

Charlie

Charlie laughed to himself after he left the practice room and headed down the spiral staircase to the first floor. Something had definitely unnerved Jasper and Charlie couldn't wait to figure out what. Jasper had already given him a hint that it had something to do with Mason's news. As much as he had tried to hide it, a nervous look Jasper rarely showed crossed his face when Charlie brought that particular piece of information up. It was certainly going to be an interesting meal.

As soon as Charlie walked through the door into the kitchen living room area he was greeted by an irritated and tired Ariella.

" So, you must be Charlie." she said, not sounding at all enthused.

"Yes, and you would be?" He asked.

"Don't worry Charlie, you will find out all about that at the dinner meeting." She said with a smirk.

"As cheerful as ever Ariella. Meeting not go as well as planned?" Jasper asked, knowing he was stepping over a line. Charlie sent a quick glance toward Jasper before turning to face Ariella again, a look of annoyance crossed her face. He figured it was because Jasper had walked in without making a sound, and her response proved him right.

"As annoying and quiet as ever Jasper." Was all Ariella said in response before disappearing back into the book that was on the island in front of her.

Charlie looked from Ariella to Jasper. He hadn't seen any girl ever be that disinterested in Jasper before. He also hadn't ever seen Jasper really care how a girl acted around him, and as much as he tried to hide it Charlie could tell he cared about Ariella. Looked like Charlie had found the source of Jasper's reclusion into the practice room. Dinner really was going to be interesting tonight.


	5. A New Home?

Ariella

Ariella tried her hardest to disappear back into her book, after all reading was the only way she found peace lately. Ariella had thought the meeting with her father would have answered questions she had, it just left more. Her father hadn't really told her anything about his past or his absence. Instead Mason had simply said that he knew Lacie had passed and Ariella was coming. He had prepared a room for her and hoped she would be comfortable staying at the Institute from now on. Ariella had stormed out of his office, slamming the door behind her. She ended up exploring, she hadn't been able to pay much attention to her surroundings when she had been chasing after Jasper.

Her exploration hadn't lasted all that long. She didn't have the energy to truly explore and get lost in the giant Institute. Ariella headed back toward the entrance doors, she had briefly noticed some stained glass when chasing after Jasper and wanted to really take a turned left out of the office and headed back in the direction Jasper had taken her; going straight until she reached the corner and turned right. As she turned the corner she noticed the columns coming into view and went straight until she reached the entrance hallway.

As Ariella examined the stained glass windows and columns, the only traditional church aspect she had seen that matched the outside of the building, her fingers itched for her easel and watercolors. She would definitely have to remember to bring those from the house, assuming she really was going to stay at the Institute. Ariella stared at the windows and columns, trying to commit the colors, shadows, and lights to her memory to paint later.

She was pulled back to reality by the sound of footsteps behind her.

"Beautiful aren't they?" Asked Mason. "I didn't have the heart to change the entry way when we modernized the rest of the building. They were your mother's favorite things about this place."

"Well thanks for not destroying them. At least I will have some connection to my mother in this building." Ariella said. She took a deep breath and noticed the quick look of hurt that flashed across Mason's face. She understood, as mad as she was, Mason was a connection to her mother too, even if she wouldn't admit it out loud. "Look, I would _love _to talk about my mother and this place, but you already had your chance for the day and I am starving and exhausted. Can you point me in the direction of the kitchen please?" She said.

"Yes. Just turn around and head to the corridor, take a right, and it will be the first door you see. Our kitchen and living room area is right through the door. Make yourself at home."

"Yeah, sure. Not like I have much of a choice."

Ariella had followed Mason's directions and found herself in an open kitchen, living, and dining room. She sat down on a barstool, placing her duffle bag on the granite countertop island and pulled out the book she was currently reading. She had only been reading for about fifteen minutes when Charlie had walked in with Jasper not far behind. Ariella tried to read again after the brief introductions. She tried to disappear into the pages and find that brief feeling of peace once again. However, the boys presence proved to be nothing but a distraction so she figured she might as well be social.

"So, how was everyone's day?" She asked.

Jasper's head swiveled around like an owl. He had moved over to the couches across the room.

"So you are going to be cordial and polite now?" Jasper asked.

"Trying. Will you _please _return the favor?"

"Sure, I guess. My day was...interesting. I am pretty sure you know why." He said, throwing a wink her way.

"Charlie, what about you?" She asked, fighting the urge to go over and wipe that cocky grin off of Jasper's face.

"Umm, okay I guess. Just ran some errands for Mason. Nothing all that exciting."

"I could do with a day like that." Ariella said, the exhaustion of the past few weeks evident in her voice.

"Hey Ariella." Jasper said, his voice serious for the first time today. "It's not that bad here, maybe things will get better."

"Yeah, maybe Jasper. Maybe"


	6. Opening up

Charlie

"Hey, Ariella do you want anything to drink? We have coffee, milk, juice, water. Anything sound good to you?" Charlie asked, figuring if Jasper was going to try and be kind Charlie might as well put in an effort as well. It was pretty evident that something shitty had happened to Ariella recently. He was pretty good at reading people and she wasn't putting up much of a fight.

"You might want to consider that we are having pizza for dinner." Mason walked in carrying two large boxes of Dominos pizza and set them on the island.

"I'll take some water Charlie, thanks for asking." Ariella relied, moving her book off of the island and shoving it back into her bag.

"One water coming right up. What kind of pizza did you get Mason? I'm starving after running those errands I ran for you."

"Well I'm terribly sorry you had to do some work for once Charlie. I got a three meat and a cheese. Sound good to everyone?" Mason asked.

"I call three meat!" Jasper shouted as he jumped over the back of the couch and ran over to the island.

"Now, now Jasper. We have a guest, be kind and share." Charlie said, shooting Jasper a scolding big brother look.

"Actually that is what I need you talk to everyone about." Mason interrupted before Charlie and Jasper started their usual bickering.

Charlie shot a sidelong glance at Ariella, she didn't look to happy about the incoming news.

"Mason." Charlie interrupted. "We all know what the news is, so spare us the grandiose speech. Ariella is not just a guest, she is our newest resident. Am I correct?"

"Well, yes she is." Mason replied, ignoring Charlie's rather rude interruption.

"Great, meeting adjourned. Now it looks to me like Ariella is exhausted and needs rest more than greasy pizza. Mind if I take her to her room?"

"I'd like that" Ariella answered, gathering her things before Mason could reply. "Lead the way Charlie." With that Ariella jumped down from her barstool, grabbed a piece of pizza out of Jasper's hand, and headed toward the kitchen door.

"Alright then, follow me." Charlie said as he lead Ariella through the door and back out to the corridor. As they reached the corridor they headed back in the direction of Mason's office, Charlie tried to figure out what to talk about to break the awkward silence that had fallen between the two.

"I like to paint. If you couldn't tell by the paint splatters all over my tank top." Ariella said as they rounded the corner and got closer to passing Mason's office. "You looked like you wanted to talk, I am okay with talking about art." Ariella said in response to Charlie's surprised look.

"Oh, okay. Anything in particular you like to paint?" Charlie asked.

"Generally landscapes or cityscapes. I have never been good with people but nature and objects I can do."

"Do you paint from images or do you go and see the subject in person?" Charlie asked as they passed Mason's office a took a left, starting to go up the staircase to the rooms on the second floor.

Ariella didn't respond for a little while and Charlie feared he had stepped over the line, even if he wasn't sure how. She took a deep breath before saying "My mom and I would go camping a lot, we would take my paints and easel and spend the trip painting. Some of my best memories of her are from our camping trips. So I guess the answer to your question is that I would go see my subject, I hate working from a photograph, the paintings never turn out as real."

"Ariella.." Charlie started but he wasn't sure what to say next. He hadn't expected her to talk about her past, she seemed so guarded around Mason and Jasper, so why had she opened up to him?

They reached the second floor, Charlie brought her down a hallway, turning left at a the cross hallway. Her room was the first on on their right. "Here we are, you are right next to Jasper."

"Thanks Charlie, but umm...is there any other room available, seems like you guys have plenty of guest space." Ariella asked, she had seen at least five other rooms on the route Charlie had taken her and knew there were more than what she had seen.

"Actually this is your room. Mason has never let anyone else use it, he set it aside for you before Jasper and I even came to the institute."

Ariella didn't say anything, just turned her back to Charlie and headed into her room. Charlie stood there for a minute, trying to figure out what to do next. He decided to go and find Jasper, he had some questions to ask him about Ariella.


	7. Past Revealed

Jasper

"Let me guess, you want to know all about Ariella?" Jasper asked as Charlie entered the room. Jasper had known that questions were coming, he just wasn't sure he was willing to answer.

"Well, yeah. You disappeared for hours into the practice room and can't seem to decide how you are going to be towards Ariella. Jasper, you never seem to care about how girls are toward you so why do you care about how Ariella is toward you?" Jasper just stared at Charlie. He hated how well Charlie knew him; Jasper was never able to hide anything from him.

"Charlie, I really don't want to share. It's in the past okay?" Jasper said as he got up from his seat. He was going to try and get out of this room as fast as he could.

"Jasper, I am not going to let you leave. Ariella isn't going to share, but I know you well enough to figure stuff out even if you don't say anything. I don't want to cross any lines with her and the only way I will know what to do or say is if you tell me something." Charlie said.

"Dammit Charlie. Why do you care so much about her?" Jasper was annoyed, Charlie never seemed to care about much of anything, much less other people.

"Well, Jasper in case you hadn't realized it, Ariella will be our newest resident so I thought I would try and be nice." Charlie said. His tone was that of an impatient older brother lecturing his oblivious younger sibling.

"Yes, Charlie I noticed. You really aren't going to leave this alone are you?"

"What do you think?" Was Charlie's reply.

Jasper let out a sigh, equal parts frustration, annoyance, and exhaustion and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Charlie, you don't get to tell her I told you. She hates me enough as it is. I knew her for a number of years, we were best friends for a long time."

"Jasper, you were more than that. Even an idiot can tell. You only came here a couple of years ago so how long were you two _best friends_?"

"I meant it, we were best friends for a long time." Jasper said, choosing to ignore Charlie's implication that they had been more than friends. "We met when we were both eight. We were friends immediately, couldn't separate us, as much as it pissed her mother off. Lacie, Ariella's mother, had left this world and the Nephilim behind and was trying to keep Ariella from it. Having a Nephilim as a best friend kinda defeats the purpose…" Jasper took a deep breath and trailed off. "There you go, now you know all about our relationship. So leave it alone."

"So you were best friends, and only _best friends_, until you came to the institute? I am just trying to figure it out. She reacted a bit different than someone would if they found their long lost best friend. It seemed like she was more hurt and pissed off than overjoyed about seeing you again. What did you do to her?" Charlie asked.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Jasper snapped. He didn't see why Charlie really needed all the details. Charlie knew enough as far as Jasper was concerned, he really didn't understand why Charlie was pushing so hard for more details.

"Exactly what I said idiot. So tell what really happened." Charlie said.

"Fine!" Jasper snapped. He really didn't want to share all of this. Jasper always tried to leave the past in the past and Charlie knew it. "We started dating when we were thirteen, puppy love is what her mother and everyone else called it. We kept dating for two years, until we were fifteen. I came here, as you know, when I was fourteen. I didn't tell Ariella what was going on, her mother made me promise that I wouldn't bring Ariella into this world. For a year I tried to balance training and outside life with Ariella. After a year I decided to breakup with her, I didn't tell her why, I couldn't. Enough information for you?" Jasper asked, putting as much sarcasm as he could into the question as he stormed out of the living area and headed to his room.

Dammit, Charlie really knew how to get under his skin. Jasper once again walked on autopilot, his mind going back to the past. Jasper hadn't thought about those years with Ariella in a long time, he hadn't wanted to but now he couldn't help himself. He remembered when he first met Ariella, she had been running around outside, oblivious to where she was going she had run into the street. Jasper had been passing by and saw her run into the road right in front of a car. He ran over without thinking and pulled her back onto the sidewalk. Jasper immediately began yelling at her and calling her things like idiot, oblivious, and reckless. He couldn't believe this little red headed girl would do something so stupid. Ariella had just stood there and taken the lecture, no tears or fighting on her end. She had just stood there, waited until he was done, and then insteaded that Jasper go to meet her mother. She had grabbed his hand and ran across the street to her yellow two story house. Ariella continued to boss Jasper around afterwards, saying that they were best friends, never giving him a chance to say otherwise.


	8. Breakdowns and confusion

Jasper cont.

Jasper reached his room before he even realized it and noticed a light on in the room next to his. So that was Ariella's room, life was certainly going to be more difficult from now on if Ariella was next to him. Jasper was about to go into his room when he heard her door open. Crap, what did she want to talk about now? Was she going to yell at him again?

"Look Ariella, I get that you don't want to talk to me so why don't we both just call it a night and deal with all of this in the morning." He said without even turning around to face her.

"Sorry." Was all she said. He noticed that her voice seemed small and quiet, like she had been crying recently.

Jasper took a step toward her, he hadn't dealt with Ariella like this in a long time. He hadn't dealt with Ariella in a long time period.

"You don't have to apologize. Ariella, please tell me what is going on." Jasper took one more step towards mood swings were more than he could handle, Charlie had already pushed him enough today and now Ariella was throwing him for a loop. He was close enough to hold her in his arms, just like he had when they had first met. Just as Jasper was trying to figure out what to do Ariella decided for him by wrapping her arms around him.

"I lost her." Was all Ariella said before she broke down into tears.

"Ariella, I am so sorry." Jasper said, he wasn't sure what else to say. He just stood there and held her. He knew Ariella enough not to say anything. She didn't like showing her emotions around people, and if he said anything now she would probably run back into her room and slam the door in his face. At least she wasn't yelling at him. After a while he heard her sniffle, trying to stop the tears, and he pulled back from their embrace.

"Feel any better now Ariella?" He asked as he wiped her tears from her cheeks. Jasper wasn't even thinking about what he was doing. He just wanted to comfort her and help her smile again. He knew that she was still mad, he had broken it off without telling her why, not that he could have, but at this moment she needed someone. Jasper tilted her chin up so she was looking at him and then took hold of her hand.

"Hey, Ariella you know things are going to get better now right? We, all of us here, are going to take care of you. You know that right? You aren't alone anymore." Jasper looked at her seriously, she needed to know that he meant it. He wasn't going to let her deal with losing her mother on her own, despite everything that had happened between them.

"Yeah, I know. Thank you Jasper." Was all she said before she pulled her hand away and went back to her room.

Jasper took a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair and trying to absorb everything that had just happened. He went into his room and closed the door, collapsing on his bed. Jasper didn't know what to do or think; too much had happened in one day. He fell asleep, his emotions running wild after todays encounters with Ariella. Part of him hoped that it was all some crazy dream.


End file.
